Just something about our mind

Nishijima used to say mind and matter are two facets of Reality. - I doubt people are (or were) aware that he meant the Reality and not just reality the way most usually use the word. - While perhaps on the other hand he did not find it necessary to separate these here since anyway the reality is the Reality. Nishijima was not always interested in making himself clear where things might be controversial or where clarification might lead to other confusion or ambiguity.

Anyway, this is not what it’s about. - When Nishijima said mind and matter are two facets of one reality, people would usually assume this means (the) Reality stands somewhere between mind and matter - as a sort of a middle way perhaps, or anyway that these two reflect two sides of the reality. This is not so, and this is what it’s (this post is) about. People are “prone”, as Nishijima’s favorite expression, - to mistake his intention here, which I wanted to relate to.

As Daikan says in his famous poem, - the clear mirror needs no stand. Similarly, the reality has no other side. There is no such thing as the other side of Reality, or something that is prior to it. - The situation is different. Mind and matter are both on the same side of Reality. Rather mind stands somewhere between the Reality and matter. That is mind is closer to the Reality, matter is not as close, as it seems to me. Therefore, you might say, we experience mind as mind and matter as matter. - This is the difference. So they are two facets of the Reality, (or of reality) as two different phenomena - as being different in their appearance, - but as I assume Nishijima Roshi was not aware of the mistake his words would seemingly lead to, - and therefore made no attempt to correct it.

As I said - this is what I wanted to refer to in this post.

- Just this. - Everything arises from Reality.

In accordance with what we might call its distance from it things might change in their nature or their appearance.

Science has practically nothing to say about the mind, that is materialistic so called “science” as we are familiar with it today.
- I mean no physical discovery could in any way give any sort of idea why is it that what we experience as awareness has to exist anyway. - Or how come that is has come into existence. I related to this in my “Time” post.
It (- science) might come up with some explanations as for its manner of functioning, - but the fact remains the same.

- And the attitude is somewhat ridiculous, - but this is beside the point.


We are Reality.
But as it seems else than Buddhas no one can see the fact. So we see ourselves as we do. And it seems, as close to Reality as we can get, is what we call our “mind”. - We don’t really know in what way we experience this, most of us at least. - What we grasp through our senses we call matter. But neither is as deep or as direct as the true reality, or as direct familiarity with it. - What is this reality? I don’t know. Not yet at least. - And those who “do” can not say, in most cases at least.

I mean with the exception of the cases where one has been able to actualize his humanity relying on words, as sometime does happen in the recorded stories of the Buddhas and patriarchs, - in China mainly of course.


- So far.

Fwiw.                                                                                                                     (Written on a “Word” (28.1.16) and copied off to the blog later.
                                                                                                                                     Not written directly on the blog.)